The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-05-29
A Glance at Government 4
Bureau Of Statistics.
HOW THE WORK is PERFORMED
The History Told in the LANGUAGE ot
Figures-Progress, Pride and
Pathos Portrayed


visit It. Its very location is not known
TO many people. 1t is the bureau OF
fgures-or The Bureau of Statistics "as
The sign over the door says. There is
something about figures that does not
seem promising TO the seekers after the
curious and interesting. The bureau is
almost as quiet as death. 1t might he
sort of sleepy hollow, were it not that
everybody is actively at work. All sight
seers shun it; yet it is altogether an in
teresting place if you lock at it righr.
There is more information to be had
in smaller spaca there than anywhere
else in the United States. EVERYTHING
is told in figures. Science, political
economy and diplomacy are treated of
In figures. History and stories of>sd-
venture are recorded in figures. For
any one who will study the language of
these little crooked characters, there
many strange and wonderfully interest.
ing things to be found. The ELOQUENT
speeches or orators are contained there
in the condensed form of figures. Great
statesmen translate them into elegant
phrases that thrill the auditors and FIJI
the world with their fame. Most OF
the great speeches that are made in
Congress are translated from these fig
ures. 1t is the mastery of them that
makes great men. Most of the great
speeches of the campaigns aae got here,
The history told i'll this language OF
figures is more wonderful and more
correct than that told in eny other
form of expression. There is progress
pride ana pathos portrayed in these
concile emphatic phrases. They tell OF
romance and adventure, and treat OF
chaeacters and conditions of men. The
adventures of the frontiersmen are told
| in the namber of feet, pounds or bushels
of commerce they drew out of the
wilderness. the fluctuations show theiI
failures and their successes. This lone
line OF figures here mean prosperity
wealth and happiness; smiling fortune
love and marriage, settlement and adj
vancement. Those shortcut figures
there are short story sooE told. 1t is
of disaster. Terrific storms, perhaps.
with all the adventures of death and
narrow escapes attending them. Some
heroic, self-sacrIticing deeds NAV be
perchance some fearful crime commit
red In the struggle to be the uppermost
Tales of ruined fortune, blasted hopes
and long, hopeless separations.
Here are figures that tell of hundreds
of boats plying backward and forward
upon the broad rivers. You can de. ect
the sound of the paddle-wheels splash.
| ing the waters into foam; you can hear
the whistles along the waters iii the still
highs; you can see the bright fires of the
passing steamers and hear the songs
| across the tide. They tell you, too, OF
great business ventures that had in
them those elements of risk and excite.
ment that center our interest about the
hery OF a novel; You may hear the
songs of the slaves as they handle the
cotton bales.
Read on and you will find many
changes. Gradually the light of the
engines and the splash of the paddle
boxes fade and die away. Their are rot
ten bulls lying in the water. 1t is q
story of prosperity, progress and decay
with compensation in change to other
scenes of prosperity and progress.
And here are some more figures
stories of a most recent date-if you
had time to read them. They are tales
of life in the great metropolis. They are
tremendous in their plot. There is the
Romance of Wall Street" "The
Ruined Banker 1.-The Great Conspir-
acy, or the Corner in Grain" all very
exciting stories. Then there are many
sober works on finance. commerce and
history, if you prefer something COM
n-piace-even dry and ordinary SUBJ
jects may be treated of in figures! The
field OF research Is very broan and fer
tile.
In collecting all these fioures the gov
eminent is influenced by motives
entirely practical. It is mere matter
of business. the purpose being to keep
informed as to the extent and value of
our commerce, both foreign and
domestic. The work OF the Bureau Of
Statistics is conducted on purely BUSH
ness principles, and the employees are
very guarded and careful not to permit
the figures they have to deal with to
lead them into romance and the realms
of the poetical and visi0nefy. Alright
sometimes clerks who have been for
many days reading and writing figures
to show the Importance of American
dogs have dreams of droges of hogs run.
ming, squealing over their beds, followed
by Prusslan soldiers prodding their fat
sides with bayonets; but these visions
are never permitted to occupy their
minds durind working hours. They
have been trained not to get too ex-
cited over figures. They can handle the
most thrilling array of ciphers, ones
and twos and skies and mines. with per
feet complacency.
The manner of doing the work is quite
perfect and the commercial value of the
collected is very great. The
chief, Col. Switzler (appo1nted under
this Administration)an the chief clerk,
Mr.. Whitney, man of longer expert
ence III the service, form with their
force of clerks and computeas. the great
central Bureau of Statistics, figures, or
whichever you are of al
mind TO call it. All the custom officers
in the United States have TO report to
this Office all the business done at their
ports. In thia way they get the figures
as to our foreign commerce. Then they
have agents at work throughout The
States collecting information as to I'M
;ernal commerce. They can not cover
he entire field ofinternal commerce at
me time, SO they take, up district
branches of it that happen to be
interest, and collect figures on these. M:
switzIer's predecessor accumulated
many figures about railroads, Tor
Instance. Mr.. Switzler's nrst important
-, uao m collect statistics IS to the !